The Duke Reborn
by Minako Kurosu
Summary: An alternate, slightly more gratifying end to the Madness of Duke Venomania. Hope you enjoy


**I decided to write this after becoming unfortunately addicted to The Madness of Duke Venomania (yes, my slight obsession with Gackt led me to where I am now…he's just as sexy in Vocaloid form..heh ;] ). I found the storyline to be interesting in a sense, despite it's dark and somewhat naughty (okay…not just somewhat…but it teaches you values…like…harems are bad :D ) nature x] and suddenly I was struck with an idea, so I HAD to write it. PLEASE review and tell me what you think. Gakupo is my favorite male vocaloid 3**

**P.S: I've been told the lay out of this is a tad confusing; there IS perspective change during the story, and the lyrics in italics for the first part are the Duke's thoughts. It's a bit of inspiration I drew from my own life, actually...when I'm in an intense mood, I tend to think in rhyme. I hope this isn't TOO confusing for you, lovelies. ^.~  
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**P.P.S: There IS an OC in this story. Her name is Lilly...but that's all I can divulge to you for now.**

The turgid cloud of sense-muddling perfume settles in the still air of my throne room. I sit at ease, closing my eyes and inclining my head slightly in response to the slender, pretty fingers that run through strands of my hair or slide dotingly across my arm or leg. By my feet kneel pretty women, gazing up at me with shining eyes filled with mindless adoration and desire, behind me stand more, whispering and fidgeting for their chance to be beside me, and at my side, even more hover, yearning to hear my commands that they might somehow indulge my wants. Occasionally, I will grace one of them with a touch on the cheek, a tongue slid suggestively across a waiting collarbone, or even a smoldering look simply to hear her gasp in delight and return the favor. Truly, I am loved and wanted by all those in my presence.

I look down at my newest companion, one of particular beauty and extravagence in my sight. Striking green hair frames beautiful blue eyes, once so pure and clear, but now masked and clouded over as they meet mine, lost in the depths of my power. She had just arrived the previous evening…finally. I smile at the memory of that triumphant night.

* * *

><p><em>This is how it should be, They all adore and live for me, I am ensconced in hot-blooded sweating ecstasy, Far from the cold emptiness I found my old life to be.<em>

More lyrics flashed through my mind as I heard the telltale rumor of heeled footsteps in the hall. Anticipation slid across my face in the form of a welcoming smile as a young lady hesitantly opened the large double doors, bringing a sliver of light with her into the badly lit depths of my ever-growing harem.

_Step into my embrace, Offer me your lips and their sweet taste, I'm happy to make you mine, My dear, let's make use of our time, I'll find a room where the lights are dim…_

The woman peered around, trying to adjust her lovely blue eyes to the seething darkness.

"Hello?" she queried in a light, melodious tone.

_I recognize you on a second's whim, And welcome you in, My old childhood friend._

_Gumi._

Smiling, I extended my hand.

_Welcome to the serpent's den._

"Greetings, lovely lady," I purred, and as soon as her eyes fixed on me, I saw the spell take place. Dazedly, she stepped forward, reaching out her hand to take mine. My smile widened.

_We'll dance all night til the sun peeks in, A waltz of sweat and tangled limbs, Shameless touching of skin on skin, You're mine now, drunk with your own sin._

I could see her shaking her head slightly as her body tried to make sense of the new feelings that were coursing through her veins. I stood as she drew nearer.

"Sorry…I-it's just that I'm…lost," she managed. "There was a storm…I heard…castle near here…I just need…shelter for a night…"

I took her hand, raising it to my lips with a bow that was only slightly mocking. "There's no need for apologies," I assured her. Her mouth was slightly open as she stared at me; I hadn't let go of her hand. Rather, I pulled her against me, circling my free arm around her waist. She was caught, entranced by my violet eyes.

_Be my new wife and lover, I've added you to my harem._

"But I've decided you need a change of plans," I continued. "No need to stay for the night…you can remain here, and be my new wife."

She was too far gone to protest; she closed her mouth and nodded mutely.

"Good girl," I smiled. "Now, lend me the taste of your lips…"

_A taste indeed, so bitter and sweet, Thanks to you betrayal, Tonight shall truly be a treat._

If she hadn't belonged to me with the first glance, she was mine now. I could feel her bowing to my possession as my lips met hers; she relaxed against me, and I found her bosomy figure to be beyond enticing. Sliding my tongue into her mouth for a brief moment _just_ to set her heart racing, I pulled away, entreating her to follow me.

"I already have a room…for us."

_Another night of hot-blooded possession, Started with a simple gaze of suggestion, But when I grip you I am cruel, This time you are the pretty fool. One again you are mine, But this is for the rest of time, Those familiar blue eyes, They have finally been clouded with my power and lies…_

* * *

><p>Withdrawing from my reminiscence, I cup my hand under her chin and draw her towards me, leaning in to agressively press my lips against her cool skin. I bite her…just a little. Just to feel her react, to hear her draw in a sharp breath and clutch at the loose cloth of my sleeve.<p>

_Finally…you are mine forever._

_She_ was the reason I became what I am…anything but human. In a sense, she's the reason I am what I am.

_I am no longer a person._

_**No.**_

My breath roars in my ears as my fingers, made clumsy with desperation, tear the fragile slip of clothing I gave her from her alabaster shoulders.

_The life I left behind, The curse I took to make this power mine, The soul that once felt pure with love, Is barren now, a monster I've become…_

Grabbing her roughly by the shoulders, I pull her, half naked, against my body and prepare to use her as I will, despite the company around us. It doesn't matter. She is mine. They are all _mine._

_The memories that tortured me, I sold them all and now am free, She's nothing but a pretty whore, A night of satiation, nothing more._

She doesn't resist me. She can't…the first time my hands rake the sacred skin beneath their clothes, the women are mine and mine alone. The spell becomes complete and binding, never to be broken while I am alive.

_While I am alive…_

_Is the life of a monster truly living?_

I am interrupted in my thoughts and actions by the sound of footsteps. These, unlike most, are not uncertain or cautious. Whoever has come knows this place, knows my reputation.

Grinning broadly, I shove Gu—_the girl_—aside, refusing to look at her eyes, through which now only pain will flash lucidly, causing more familiarity. I pause only briefly to messily fix her garment before settling back in my throne, facing the door and awaiting this night's newest pleasure. By the sound of the footsteps, now determined and daring, I know I will not be disappointed.

The presence of a woman who knows this place could mean one of two things: the first, that it is some poor foolish mother who lost her daughter, or some curious visitor wanting to know more about the constant disappearences that have plagued the unfortunate town beneath my castle, or the second, that a young, love-hungry castaway has come seeking the rumored intoxicating looks of the castle's owner. If it is the first, I will all the more enjoy a night of crushing defiance and hope against the mattress and smothering it was sweat-stained sheets; if it is the second, I will be willingly offered everything and will need to exert little to no effort to take all that I desire.

The footsteps halt behind the door, and I raise my voice to beckon their owner inside. Slowly, the double doors swing open, and before me stands…

I freeze, my mask of a honey-laden, welcoming smile sliding from my face.

This woman…

_Exotic hair and matching eyes, A fiery stare to hypnotize, The memories past struggle inside, I yearn to be free and I yearn to die…_

I have no desire to even touch her.

_Meeting my gaze with a look so bold, Following the stories that she's been told, Searching and seeking endlessly, And here at last she's found the key…_

Disgusted, I stand.

"May I help you?"

My usual greeting is cold and abrupt. I want her gone, though I cannot say why…

She strides into the room, long hair swishing lightly against the small of her back, her eyes searching my face, filled with some sort of emotion…

"I'm looking for someone."

Her voice rings out clear and calm; I can tell just by looking at her that she is equally disenchanted with me. How curious…

_A warning, Duke, for you to heed, This woman isn't for your lies to feed._

But perhaps if I catch her under my spell-exert more of my boiling power, which for the most part I have been exuding merely a sliver-I can kill her quickly and hide those disturbingly familiar eyes.

"Indeed?" I let my voice drop into its usual smoldering tone of appeal, adding a drop of amusement to lighten the mood as I step down from my throne and approach her. I take her hand and press it gently to my lips, and I feel the tension lift as the other women recognize the signs of the normal routine.

The woman steps forward before I can draw her in, but I am only disconcerted for a moment; her eyes already look disconnected with her thoughts.

"Yes," she murmurs. "Someone important…a close relation to me…a dear person I have loved as long as I can remember."

I chuckle. This might explain things. "Aren't you scandilous?" I whisper, catching a strand of that abhorrent, long hair in my fingers and bringing it to my cheek. "There are only women here. Are you searching for your forbidden love? I assure you, I can satisfy even _your_ uncommon desires…"

_Ignore that face, don't look at those eyes, She's just another heart you must force to compromise._

Her hand stiffens in mine, and her voice is a tad colder, even in her befuddled state, as she responds, "You're making assumptions now. I heard…that the castle was run by a monster feared and hated by all men."

"But you're no man," I point out, chucking her lightly under the chin before suggestively trailing my finger down to the swell of her breasts.

_Ah. She's rather flat-chested._

Tactfully, I continue, "I am lord of this palace. I can't speak for men…but I am loved by all women…" I bring my face close to hers and whisper in her ear, "I doubt you will be any exception, my slim-framed beauty."

With that, I lead her into one of my favorite rooms. Something about this woman unsettles me; I would seal her chains and make her mine, but then I would be quick to put her away from me and kill her. Still, I want someone fresh tonight, and she is the only visitor…

Just as we enter the room, I hear one of the girls announce that another newcomer has entered the castle.

_A substitute to bed tonight, I can end this one with a kitchen knife, Hide that frightning gaze from my sight, Stifle this one persistent light…_

"Allow me a minute or two," I murmur, kissing her hand and taking my leave. I want to make it to my throne to greet my new bride.

"Welcome," I say, extending my hand and feeling my eyes blaze with the power granted by the devil. The woman in the doorlight is slender as well, but her long, golden, wavy hair and seductive blue eyes are much more appealing to me. There is nothing threatening in that look…merely the promise of a lust-filled night.

I stand, more eager than usual to strip the clothes off of _this_ beauty. She's wearing far too much anyway.

"I hope you appreciate my castle," I say as she steps toward me. "Perhaps you would like to sta— "

Before I can continue, she rushes forward and catches me by the lapel.

"You have quite the reputation," she whispers in a soft, breathy voice. "I was promised that if I asked to spend the night, I wouldn't be disappointed by the…accomodations."

A fiesty one. I grin, relishing the many opportunities and possibilities of what we could do together. Drawing her closer, I say in mock-seriousness, "A reputation? You may have been mislead, m'lady. Here, I can only promise you…_you will not sleep at all._"

She smiles, a crooked, suggestive twist of her lips, and says, "I never said I came here looking for a place to _sleep_, dear Duke. Your reputation does indeed precede you…and I am _very_ grateful for that."

Suddenly…

_A fire, There's a fire in my chest, A burning agony against my breast, My heart is pierced and I am stunned, I never even knew I still had one…_

I gasp…and choke…there's blood in my mouth, blood on my hands as they clutch at my chest, blood on the dark gray blade as the dark-hearted assassin twists the handle and drags it out of my flesh…

Then there is even more blood.

My body is on fire; there was poison on the blade. I can't breath…I draw in ragged lungfuls of air, but there isn't enough. I am choking on my own life force, and all I can see is red. Sweat pours from my skin, mingling with my blood…

_Blood and sweat mixed together are turning before long into drops of purple…_

I raise my dying eyes to look at my assailant…to see the woman who had somehow resisted my spell to the point of being able to physically attack me.

I look up just in time to see that smile…that twisted, triumphant slash of a grin, as the alleged she-demon slowly raises her hand to her brow and tears off the wig that had so easily fooled me in my blind lust and desire.

A shock of blue hair crowning a sculpted face and glittering blue eyes.

Surely, this is a man, the dashing knight in shining armor that had come to save his princess and swear vengeance on the monster that had defiled her.

I sink to the floor, fighting the lowering curtain of darkness that's started to fall over my sight, struggling to breath through the fiery agony that's begun to settle into an aching chill, fending off my fear and sadness.

_Why rebel against what can't be changed? You decided your fate when you began your reign, You despicable sinful monster, Breath your last with a curse and die without honor…_

My ears dully register the shrieks and noises of a general panic and stampede as the spell shatters and all the beauties I had seduced and surrounded myself with escaped as quickly as they could. A few kicked me, or stepped on me, whether by accident or design, I did not care.

_Everything is over. I'm dead. The shattering of the enchantment could mean nothing else._

Suddenly, a new fire pricked at the heart I had forgotten I had.

_But…no…_

Pushing myself up on my elbows, I looked around, straining my eyes through the fog and shadowy figures clad in lace.

_Something…I had to do…_

The final figure pauses by the door. I see the outline of a heart-shaped face turn on a slender, pretty neck to look at me one last time. In my failing vision, gentle blue eyes flash out at me, full of…could it be sympathy and remorse?

I could never begin to even hope…

Pain strikes at me again, as the poison lashes at my heart. Convulsing, choking, unable to speak, I stretch out my hand towards her. To my former love…to Gumi.

"W…wai—"

I can't speak.

_Don't go…_

She starts to turn…

_There's something I've always needed to say…_

Stepping towards me, eyes full of memories and regrets…

_I haven't told you yet that I love you._

Suddenly, a shadow blocks her way. It's the knight, the slayer of the monster. He stands over me with a gleam in his eye and fury in his voice.

"For the desecration you've caused in this nest of sin, you will pay with your life. Do you know how long I spent looking for my fiance? For three _months_ I agonized over the possibility that she had been murdered or stolen away from me…but then I began to hear rumors." He kneels beside me, treading on my hand I had reached out to Gumi with.

"Run, girl," he says to her. "This beast will only ensconce you again. Run while you have the will, and don't look back at this day."

Frightened of the bloody vision before her, she turns and flees.

_Despair takes me before the Devil does, I can never hope to be the man I was, My life ends soon, only time can tell, For the depravities against God, I'll burn forever in Hell._

Turning back to me, the blue-haired man says, "All these nights of madness and sin, you've gone beyond the point of no return. Curse God with your last breath; I'm sending you to Hell."

He raises the blade, and I close my eyes. I feel tears mingle with the sweat and blood on my face.

_Despair…_

But perhaps life as a monster was never one truly lived…

_I have no time for regrets…_

"No! Stop! You can't!"

The blade never falls.

Instead, I am encircled with darkness and warmth.

Long violet hair covers my face, soft arms carress my burning body.

Numbly, I reach up with a trembling hand and brush the silken fabric of a woman's dress. The flatchested girl…but what…?

_What is this?_

Her tears are on my lips, and her fingers are in my hair, on my face, on my chest where the blood has stained my purple clothing crimson. I hear her heartbeat as she holds me close.

"You can't end it like this!"

The woman is between me and the blade of the knight.

But this woman has a name, surely...

_A name and a face I remember well, From when mine was a happier story to tell. A boy and a girl who lived together, They were all each other had, Promising to remain forever..._

Lilly.

My lips tremble as they soundlessly form her name, and I feel a tear slide down my skin, mixing in with the indigo blood and sweat.

_Why protect me even now? Only through enchantment and sin can I be…loved._

* * *

><p><em>It's been years since I cried, but right now I'm so afraid I can't hold back the tears that slide from my cheeks onto his face and bloodied chest.<em>

_I've finally found you._

_My fingers won't believe what my eyes are telling them. They keep exploring the impossibility of the sight before my eyes, running through his purple hair, so strikingly similar to mine, stroking his face and his poor chest, so badly mutilated that it scares me all over again and I can't stop those blasted tears…_

"_You can't end it like this!" I protest to the man who stands over him with a knife. A vengeful lover…it's easy to understand. But I will **not** let him complete his plan. _

_Cradling my dearest treasure in my arms, I cover him protectively. _

"_You'll have to kill me first," I state defiantly through my tears, and he steps back in surprise._

_I've been searching for you for so long…I won't let you die now._

_My fingers tighten against his shoulders. He doesn't have much time…the blade was poisoned, and his blood lies mixed with sweat and tears on the floor. I feel his hand, fragile and weak as the last leaf of autumn that clings to a bare branch, brush my dress as he stares dazedly up at me. _

_You don't remember me…_

"_Don't be a fool," his attacker replies. "I've sworn to kill him…the innocence of all these poor women he used to shamelessly defile cries out for justice, and my blade will deliver it."_

"_You do it for the innocence of those many women?" I demand, and he nods. "Then please," I beg. "Spare his life for the grief of one! This man is my brother…the one relation I have left. He's all I have…and I lost him so long ago, I don't want to be alone…not anymore…" My tears come heavier now as I crouch over my brother's broken body. He had run away when his love interest made a fool of him in front of everyone. I had woken one day to find his belongings burned and his ring on the table._

_I have been looking for him ever since._

_When I first heard of the Duke Venomania, I didn't want to believe it was my brother. But descriptions and rumored occurences met my ears, and I resolved to bring him back home._

_I could not fail._

_I could **not** let him die!_

_The man who stood over us was a nobleman; he would yield to the tears of any maiden, no matter how reluctantly he ended up withdrawing. Pausing only to ask me to be mindful of my safety, he leaves._

_When I look back at my brother, his eyes are closed…we are twins, but his purple eyes always held more fire and passion about…anything in life. I couldn't live the rest of my life without seeing them again…_

"_Gakupo," I whisper, calling out his true name. "Have you forgotten me? Have you forgotten you?" His breath is so faint…_

"_Gakupo!" My voice is shrill as I beg him to stay. Then I hear footsteps behind me…_

* * *

><p>My name.<p>

I hear my name uttered faintly in the blackness.

_It's too late now, dear sister…forgive me…_

Suddenly, the light burns my eyes, and the air my lungs, as life rushes back into me. The pain in my chest is as real as ever, but the fire from the poison has faded. I can see…hear…speak…

Well…I can't quite speak yet.

There is a pair of soft, tender lips pressed against mine. In the purity and earnestness of the love they represent, they taste sweeter to me than they ever have.

_Gumi._

When she draws away, clutching a packet of antidote in her fingers. Gazing up at these two angels...my long-lost love and my beloved twin sister, I whisper, "You came…you both came back for me."

Laughing and crying, they draw me to them, and I am whole again.

_Reborn by redemption and cleansed of my sin, I'm a monster no more, I can truly live again._

**Hmm…well there it is :D tell me if you like it, review, review, review, PLEASE 3 ^_^**


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